The Wisdom Years
by Songbird's Spirit
Summary: I started working at NEST when I was thirty-five. Now, I'm in my late forties and, in a few months, entering my early fifties. I hear them talk "She needs to retire". I know…it's just hard to let everyone go after watching them basically grow up around me.
1. Chapter 1

**The Wisdom Years**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: General**

**Summary: I started working at NEST when I was thirty-five. Now, I'm in my late forties and, in a few months, entering my early fifties. I hear them talk "She needs to retire". I know…it's just hard to let everyone go after watching them basically grow up around me.**

* * *

Take aim, pull the trigger, and then brace yourself for the recoil.

Damn that recoil

I bit back the small growl that climbed my throat. I was getting old; almost too old to handle the damn recoil on my gun. And hell if that didn't just piss me off.

"Why can't we fight somewhere where there are fewer things to get smashed with?" I muttered under my breath as I once more took aim at the Decepticon tearing up the urban streets.

The soldier next to me, Lennox surprisingly, just snorted humorlessly at my words, "Because that would be unethical." He replied sarcastically.

"Don't be getting fresh with me kid." I warned with hints of humor to let him know not to take the statement seriously.

"I'm in my late thirties." The Captain replied humorlessly.

"I'm forty-nine."

He was silent but only for a moment, "I outrank you."

"Barely," I snorted and gave a slightly relieved sigh as an Autobot; Sideswipe if I remembered correctly, came rounding the corner.

He managed to tear the con to pieces with a simple ease humanity could only wish for. I stood and popped my arms a bit as Lennox went over to check the progress of the teams.

"Jacky," The woman looked to the Autobot as she knew very well Lennox never possessed such rich tones in his voice.

"Aye, what do you need?" I replied tiredly.

The warrior checked his surroundings before awkwardly squatting down to be more on my level…at least I assumed as much. The silver mech sighed and shook his head.

"Perhaps it would be best if you returned to the base with Evac. He is done with his part if-." The alien being began to suggest but I interrupted him.

Okay, this was getting annoying.

"For heaven's sake Sideswipe," I shook my head, "Not you too."

The Autobot could only offer a somewhat sheepish look, "I…but don't you think they might have a point?" he said carefully.

"Completely," I answered without hesitation.

"Then why don't you-."

Once more, interrupted him, "Look, I know I'm old and don't you dare tell anyone I just admitted to it," a trace of a smile flickered on the silver mech's face-plates, "I'm just not ready to retire yet."

"Oh?" he said with an amused tone as he straightened back up.

"My shoulder isn't cracked yet." I sighed, referring to the pain recoil brought.

A sly smirk spread across his features as he stopped for just a moment.

"Actually, my scanners indicate-."

"Fuck your scanners."

* * *

Being able to return to base was one of the many things to rejoice in. I sure as hell did when I was able to. Soldier work could be virtually non-stop depending on your forte.

But that was one thing also highly taken advantage of.

No one had the right to look forward to going back to base. The universe owes humanity nothing. You could die at any moment. Seeing those large doorways was always a sign of safety and end for me. No more shooting until I left them behind again in a standard green military jeep.

I passed the common areas, merely wanting to go through the female side break room and into the gender-respective human housing area.

"I am way to damn old for this," I sighed with a small and somewhat satisfied smile.

"Then why haven't you retired?" Yet another voice no human could possess rumbled from behind me. And I knew this voice rather well.

I turned and gave the black weapon's specialist a weary smile, "Speak for yourself, old-timer." I replied good-naturedly.

An amused smile graced his lip components. "I'm sure you realize the differences in aging." He snorted.

I rolled my eyes and continued walking down the massive halls, now able to exchange easy banter with the people around me. "You're still old." I shrugged with a loose hint of stubbornness in my tone.

The gung-ho mech just rolled his own set of optics, "Stubborn." He sighed.

"Trigger-happy," I replied just as smoothly.

Ironhide just shrugged indifferently. There was no arguing that point.

I've worked at NEST for fourteen years. It shouldn't even take half as long for one to realize their not that different from you besides the fact their gigantic…and made of metal.

They also live such long lives that Ironhide was probably alive when humanity still lived in caves and took a dump whenever and wherever they felt the need to.

"But in all seriousness," The old mech sighed, "You should consider retirement Jacky. You're almost fifty. The executive board might just shove a notice in your hands…or however that works."

"Please," I chuckled, "military's going to milk every drop of fight I've got until it's gone."

"Jacky," he said with a no-nonsense tone, "I'm serious."

I just sighed, "I'm aware Hide," I muttered, "I suppose you have a point along with every new recruit who believes I'm completely deaf and can't hear their insults." I laughed bitterly, "But I also think that it's…perhaps a bit more complicated."

"How so," Hide questioned and answered my silent one, "At your current rate it will take about seven to twelve minutes to reach human-housing. I've also got nothing better to do since the shooting range doesn't quite exist anymore."

"That was your own damn fault and you know it."

"Don't change the subject."

"I didn't, you did." I smirked a tad cheekily.

The black-armored mech raised a brow-plate, "Watch yourself femme, I will take you to Ratchet."

I paled a bit. He was the most insistent about my retirement…It wasn't surprising either. Again, I'd worked with the same aliens for fourteen years…I knew them and they knew me as I was one of the few humans to last this long just as Lennox and Epps had.

"So, what were you saying?" I prompted.

"You mentioned having complicated reasons for avoiding retirement." Hide reminded me, "See, already having amnesia."

I glared at him, "If you're taking me to Ratchet then that statement just earned you a one-way ticket to the Medbay from hell."

"You'd drag me down with you?" He bantered along just for the heck of it.

"You're damn right I would." I replied.

Then everything just kind of faded into a comfortable silence. Nothing more needed to be said and the moment was just in a comfortable position neither of us felt the need to ruin with my retirement shit. Once at human housing we parted ways, for obvious reasons, and I just went straight down to my room.

I sat down of the edge of my bed, trying not to wince as my older bones protested the movement. I leaned back against the wall and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"Face it Jacky," I murmured to myself, "They're right. How much longer were you going to lie to yourself?" I took a reluctant glance towards my desk and considered actually turning in the notice to them for the umpteenth time.

In the end, I merely laid down in bed and put it off for another day.

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**So that was the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed and could possibly jot down a review? Please let me know how I did, it'd be much appreciated.**

**Songbird**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Wisdom Years II**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the transformers…but I saw a continuation of sorts for Transformers Prime is scheduled to air next summer on the HUB a few years after the TFP Movie took place. The network itself confirmed the report.**

**Reviewer responses will be posted at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

"How could you do something so irresponsible?!" The lime green CMO roared.

_'Just give him a minute to yell and it'll be over soon…'_ I sighed in my head.

"Look at this! You know damn good and well your bones cannot handle this kind of strain!" He ranted; seeming to grow increasingly irritated every passing second.

'Then again I've been wrong before,' I sighed out loud this time, "It's not that bad." I grumbled.

To my chagrin, the Medic caught my statement. "Not that bad!" He thundered, "YOU'RE SHOULDER IS SHATTERED!"

"I am aware." I scowled.

"I hope so; the stupidity you possess is boundless!" He scowled.

"Oh would you give it a rest?!" I snapped, "So I made a mistake…Everyone makes mistakes."

In my defense, Ironhide hadn't said the hand-cannon was _that_ powerful.

He just said it was a bit more than I would have been used to…

I'm not quite sure how those two sentences got mixed up for him in terms of definition.

It was only a matter of time until Ratchet was moving about the room grumbling to himself as he gathered the necessary tools to fix up my arm. I didn't trust the human doctors, they weren't well experienced and I did not get along with the main human CMO. She and I practically tried to glare each other to death every time we saw one another.

"Jacky," Ratchet said sternly as he transformed and activated his Holoform, "I'm most likely going to have to apply nanites to the wound to help it reform and reset."

"I figured it wasn't _completely shattered_," I drawled humorlessly.

"I may have overreacted a bit," He sighed grumpily, "but you cannot afford these mistakes. I will have to notify your superiors." He said albeit a tad sadly.

"Another fact I am also aware of," I laughed lightly.

"That's be enough out of you smartass," Ratchet scolded good-naturedly and gave me a light thump on the forehead, "However, promise me you will be more careful." He murmured as he began to gently maneuver my arm to make his work a little easier, "As much as we all encourage your retirement you would be missed if you do ever choose to leave."

"You know what," Perceptor mumbled from the background, "She reminds me of Kup. She won't give up her military family until her dying breath. He's was the same and I don't even know if he's online or not."

"Family," Ratchet questioned?

"I've been here for-."

"Fourteen years," Ratchet and Percy interrupted at the same time.

"And you two call me the smartass," I huffed, "But yeah, I've watched everyone grow up. It feels like I'm home and with family. I really don't know what I'd do if I had to leave. Unlike you, I can leave the military…but this battle of yours doesn't leave a lot of options when you're Cybertronian."

"You've got that right;" Perceptor said wistfully, "Many of us didn't start out as fighters. For example, Sideswipe owned a business back home and Jolt was an electrician."

"Does that count?" I mused since Jolt used electricity to fight but Ratchet just shrugged.

Perceptor hummed thoughtfully, "We all know Prime was a data clerk…Ratchet was already in the Medic field but I do believe Wheeljack worked alongside him sometimes." Ratchet nodded, "I thought so…I already dabbled in science and engineering," Perceptor paused.

"What about Jazz?" I asked carefully.

"He was a messenger…" Ratchet sighed, "He was quick and had a good memory. He loved being able to travel all over the place."

"How's he doing?" I asked as we all gazed over at the slumbering silver mech.

"His nanites are still working at one-sixteenth of the pace they normally do. Until I can find a proper formula for long-term nanites to speed up the process he'll stay in Cryo-Lock for another three vorns or so…" Ratchet paused, "But that's even a risk. Cybertronian bodies were not meant to be in such long states of inactivity."

"Remind me again how long a vorn is?"

"About seventy-three earth years," Perceptor answered.

"So, I guess none of the humans in this generation will ever meet him…" I said a bit sadly. Everyone seemed to recall fond things about Jazz. Even Prowl, a newer arrival who had come by himself, spoke fondly even when recalling parts of the past where the mech would annoy him during work without end.

I was especially fond of hearing the story of when Jazz managed to hack into Prowl's quarters on the Arc despite being almost completely intoxicated.

Prowl was a good storyteller when he told personal stories like that…which almost never happened. But he had felt the need to when he arrived and discovered the state of his close friend.

"There," Ratchet's Holoform stepped back, "That should do it."

I looked over to see my arm in a bind and it appeared to be shifting. "That shift you see in the coloring should be the nanites. If they ever stop please tell me right away."

"I thought you were still testing nanites?" I said suspiciously.

"Medical nanites are much simpler than the full scale nanites needed for Jazz," Perceptor explained, "The nanites our bodies use are set to remain active until we offline as they control things such as our coloring, self-reparation, and even numb pain and set in reformats if one needs to be upgraded. Medical nanites on the other hand have a one track function of repair and are programmed to offline themselves and revert to atomic particles when their job is deemed done."

"That's amazing," I smiled, "Thanks again Ratchet."

"Try not to hurt yourself again. And as repayment, I expect a favor." Ratchet shushed any complaints, "You're supposed to go to the human doctors and I'm technically not supposed to even be giving you these nanites. So consider the favor to be because of the nanites."

"Fine," I sighed and shook my head light-heartedly, "What did you need?"

"Blurr arrived the other day and no-one will ride with him because he causes…what was it called again Percy?" Ratchet sighed.

"I believe Lennox referred to it as a barracuda." Perceptor called without looking up from his work.

"Ah correct," Ratchet mumbled, "I need someone to pick up the items at the warehouse and a human to direct him. If you go with him he'll be more careful because you are injured."

"At least that's the theory." Percy grumbled.

"Hey, the bot might be a little dense but he's actually quite selfless." Ratchet said, "If you had been there with us when we landed on Velocitron and witnessed what he had done for us you'd be singing a different tune."

"I doubt that."

"No you see here!"

"I think I'm going to go…" I said quietly and carefully made my way down the ladder with my one good arm while the medic and the scientist began to bicker.

I could only hope it didn't evolve into a violent argument. I had almost gotten hit with the wrench once when Ironhide ducked the throw.

Scared me half to death

* * *

**This is mostly a filler chapter for the next one. The real action will start during Jacky's ride with Blurr and Sideswipe. **

**To the reviewers:**

**MarshallAlexandraAnderson: Got it, and thank you! I'm glad you got hooked on this.**

**2211Nighthawk: Thanks! I appreciate the review!**

**Jessie07: Thank you! Hopefully, I can keep this story interesting!**

**Thank you as well to all of those who favorite/followed this story! It's a form of encouragement that's keeps an author writing.**

**Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Wisdom Years III**

**Disclaimer: I do not own transformers…kinda wish I worked with them though… XD**

**All reviewer responses will be posted at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

_'I thought Ratchet said he would go slower!' _My mind squealed.

"Are you supposed to be going this fast?!" I yelped as Blurr artfully dodged running another car off the road as he maneuvered around them.

"Fast? Man, you humans have such a weird concept of that word…" He mused, completely unconcerned with my question.

"Blurr, your speedometer hasn't dipped below ninety-seven since we hit the freeway…"

"Yeah, that's pretty slow."

"How in the hell is this slow?!"

"Well…on a completely unrelated note," He ignored my question, "Is it true that humans liquefy if they go fast enough…that G-Force crap stuff or whatever Que was talking about?" He asked curiously.

Somehow, I was only slightly horrified by his question.

"Uh, yeah…sure," I mumbled hesitantly.

"…Can I try?"

Once again, only a little horrified.

"You want liquefied human guts soaked into your seats?" I replied smartly.

The pride I felt for making the Velocitronian squeal in disgust ended shortly after he slammed on the brakes…

Not even the seatbelt lock had been fast enough to counteract the force of the whiplash that sent my head crashing against his steering wheel.

"Mother-Fragger!" I howled and gripped my fore head with a light whimper while Blurr only let out a small hiss of pain.

"Oops…" He grumbled.

"Why can't I ride with Sideswipe?" I begged.

"Because I can make sure you're clear of danger if we're attacked." Blurr boasted as his armor flared up with obvious pride.

"That so?" Sideswipe growled as he pulled up next to the speedster, "At least I'm not going to kill her with my driving."

"That's debatable." I snickered.

"Hey, Fig took it in stride!" Sides huffed, "Besides, he only had to wear a neck brace for, what…three weeks?"

"Three months Sides, not weeks," I corrected.

"Can we get back on track?" Blurr grumbled.

"Just try not to murder anyone," I sighed and patted the dash affectionately, "That entails going within the range of the speed-limit."

"Whatever you say," Blurr grumbled and merely took off again.

* * *

We made it to the warehouse without any trouble. But the moment I stepped out of Blurr's cab, Carther, the manager of the place, ambled over.

"Well hell Jacky," Carther whistled, "What happened to your face?"

I glared at him. The lack of tact he had was mind-boggling. "It was just an accident…involving guns and Ironhide." I mumbled.

"Shit, where was your common sense?" He said and slapped my back good-naturedly.

I grunted as the pain transferred right over to my shoulder and he winced. "Ah, sorry bout that." He mumbled.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"Ah, well," He waved it off, "Your order is right over here."

I waved over at Sideswipe and Blurr so they would follow. The duo transformed and followed as I began jogging after Carther.

"It was a weird order," he chuckled, "You got an order of art supplies along with the usual things. They were Autobot size too." He added and glanced in the direction of the two in the room.

"Well…I'm not sure why," I chuckled awkwardly.

"Hey, don't worry. It's none of my business anyway." He put up his hands, "Just make sure to clear it out. We need that space soon."

"Will do," I nodded.

"Alright then, take care of yourself Jack-Jack." He waved and wandered off towards the other hangars.

Once he was gone I spun around to glare at the warrior duo. "Art supplies?" I questioned.

Blurr immediately left, leaving Sideswipe to explain himself.

"My brother might be landing with the next wave," He patted his chassis, "I can at least feel he's getting closer now and again…so that's about the extent of my knowledge."

"So what's paint got to do with your brother?" I asked as I walked over to grab the clipboard from the supply-crates and sign off for them.

"Sunny's an artist," Sides explained, "Every time we're moved to a new living space he likes to paint the walls if he's able to."

"Oh," I hummed thoughtfully, "I didn't know you guys had art and such…"

"Yeah…do you think the Director is gonna rag on me about the paint?" He asked coolly.

"That depends on how much money you used," I answered as we both walked back towards the entrance to radio a truck to pick up the supplies.

"I used my own money." He deadpanned.

I stumbled as he said that. "Where'd you get enough money for that much paint?! I mean, you'd have to have a lot to cover all four walls!"

"I made some money selling trinkets and such. When I do a restoration for your earth cars and items is much easier if I use Cybertronian cleaning supplies." He explained, "I put that money in your stock market and it was pretty easy to collect my income afterwards," He paused for a moment, "It's so much easier to manipulate the stock market on this planet than it was on Cybertron. It's hardly a challenge anymore."

I gawked at him. "Well, sorry about that," I teased, "We've been working so hard to make ourselves more difficult that we already are."

"Yeah, yeah," He snorted and huffed through his intakes.

_***BOOM***_

I yelped at the ground began trembling out of nowhere. The boom sounded an awful lot like a Cybertronian cannon though.

"Damn, it's like a battlefield." I mumbled.

"Hardly," Sideswipe growled at my statement, "Stay here." He order just as Blurr came crashing into the hangar.

In seconds, the blue bot was already in the process of scooping me up off the floor. But just as he began straightening up to go dashing past the danger, a bright grey light hit him square in the back. I braced myself for the impact when he fell, but it never came.

I registered that I wasn't moving at all.

In fact, it wasn't me…but Blurr. He was frozen; a bright grey field surrounding every inch of his frame. Whatever he had been hit with, was obviously meant to freeze the opponent like some kind of…I didn't even know. All I knew was that while Blurr might actually have the grace to freeze in place on one pede like he was doing currently; but Sideswipe was currently defying the laws of physics as he'd been in midair when he'd been hit with the grey beam and was currently frozen…just…right there in the air not doing anything.

I gulped, and reach for my gun with my good arm. I couldn't see what was going on as Blurr hadn't turned around before the blast. However, I managed to grasp the hilt of the tiny weapon just as the most dangerous warlord to ever step on our planet entered the supply hangar.

I was just pulling out my firearm when it was blasted out of my hand. I yelped and glared as I followed the quiet sin-filled chuckles of a certain alien bird.

Lazerbeak snickered as I nursed my hand; the heat was causing a slight throb.

I could do very little, if not nothing at all to defend myself as Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave came forward and glared down at me with blood colored optics.

"Human," The tyrant boomed, "Where is Optimus Prime?"

* * *

**Sorry, I'm trying to get in regular updates with this story.**

**In all honesty, I'm not sure where to take this story. I have an idea, but please give any ideas if you want to. Any two-cents you've got is appreciated and credited appropriately.**

**So…anyhow, I hope you like where this goes.**

**To the Reviewers:**

**2211Nighthawk: Yeah, the interactions with those two were meant to be like old friends. They get along well, but he's always urging her to think about retiring. Thanks for the review!**

**Tai Prime: Thanks, I'm glad you like it! I hope I can take this in a good direction. I'm a little worried about where to go with it since I normally don't plan out my chapters. Thanks for taking the time to review!**

**MarshallAlexandraAnderson: Well, she should have been more careful…*Sweat-drops* this is Ironhide we're talking about. Also, here's your update. :D**

**Xantall of the Farwood: Thank you so much!**

**Purest of Hearts: (?) What?**

**Dragon of Yin and Yang: Sure, why not? XD Thanks for reviewing!**

**Thanks to those who followed this story: 2211Nighthawk, CarCars2Fanatic, JayJayinMay, LEXA14, Skotadi, Tai Prime, Treehugger31, Xantall of the Farwood, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, crazzyywolf421.**

**Thanks to those who put this story in their favorites: 2211Nighthawk, CarsCars2Fanatic, Dragon of Yin and Yang, Kgoodrich16, Skyress98, Tai Prime, Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal, and lazerraider. **

_**See you all next chapter!**_

_**Songbird 0.o**_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Wisdom Years IV**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the transformers…if I did; I would have made sure that TFA Season 4 would have aired. Have you seen the ideas they had?! It was pure brilliance!**

**Okay, so I'm hoping you guys are gonna like where this goes…gosh…nervous butterflies are having a field day in my stomach…The first part is in Jacky's POV, but most of the rest is in 3****rd**** Person if I'm not mistaken…**

**All reviewer responses will be posted at the end of the chapter…**

* * *

It was a completely awkward situation for both sides from my perspective. I had contacted base like the Cons had demanded. It was really awkward…and it takes a lot for someone who's nearly fifty to find using a phone to be awkward.

The good part was that it only took six minutes, give or take, for the squad of Autobots to get to the hangars.

The bad part was that now the Autobot Leader and the Decepticon Warlord seemed to be having a death-stare match.

Jolt, being the sweetheart he is, was kind enough to help me down from Blurr's servo. Both the speedster and Sideswipe were still inside and frozen. But at least now I was outside. I was also able to see that the Warlord had taken at least three quarters of his troops.

I was willing to bet that if that wasn't the case, that he had them all scattered about the pickup complex. That would explain why more and more Autobots were trickling in every so often. The air was tense and awkward for everyone. None of the humans wanted to get in the middle of a massive gun fight and it didn't seem like the Autobots were too thrilled to be here either.

* * *

"Optimus," Megatron said with a glare.

"Megatron," He replied evenly.

No words were exchanged for a few moments. Eventually, the glaring match ended and one mech caved. Oddly enough, it was Megatron to give in and sigh through his intakes.

"I need to propose a…truce…for lack of a better term." He grumbled.

"Why," The Prime demanded now visibly agitated, "Why after all this time?"

The Warlord growled and tried to flatten his flaring armor. "There was an incident…and somehow it resulted in three of my troops becoming…sparked…" he ground out at last.

Whatever Optimus Prime had been expecting…it had not been that. The tri-colored Autobot just looked at the Warlord with a completely lost expression.

"W-what?" He stammered.

All eyes _and_ optics were now on the two. Autobot and Decepticon troops were no longer on guard, but staring at the Prime with curious optics. Their leader had stuttered…and his tone had put everyone off as well.

"Sparked Prime…the soonest one comes in twelve earth months." Megatron rumbled uncomfortably.

It was not often the Prime didn't know what to do. He could only stand their blankly and stare.

"It…the Allspark was lost…" He protested weakly.

Megatron sighed, uncharacteristically patient and resolved. "Skystalker, Crankcase, Blackout!" He shouted.

It briefly registered to Optimus that those three names referred to a seeker, the leader of the Dreads, and a simple warrior respectively. But he was still too shocked to acknowledge it.

The three Decepticons called for stepped to the front of the crowd; all three of them reflected anger, embarrassment, mortification, and other such emotions to the crowd. However, the sight of Skystalker's cockpit bulge, Crankcase's wider chassis, and Blackout's noticeably more bulged torso overshadowed their expressions.

Optimus felt his mouth open and close with shock; unable to form words or sounds any longer.

"Sparklings…" He gaped.

"If I may," Prowl stepped forward, "Perhaps it would be best to take the matter up somewhere else. It would be better to have an understanding of the…situation."

"In addition Prowl's suggestion," Ratchet spoke out, "Perhaps the drive to a more suitable area would help our leader digest this sudden revelation…" He paused, "and do hurry. He's on the brink of crashing as it is."

Megatron took a moment before sighing once again through his intakes, "Very well, lead the way."

* * *

"Alright, explain it again…slower…what exactly did you do?" Optimus insisted.

Shockwave growled, already annoyed.

"I was conducting an experiment on the remains of the Allspark. There were a total of seven shards as collected from my Lord's armor, from what remained of Jetfire, the one Ravage collected from the human facility, and from pieces I myself have collected over the course of the war when the other cube's were destroyed. I had all seven and was attempting to piece them together with a binding agent, hoping to assemble a larger shard from them. The experiment was also a study to see if shards from different cubes could form together negating the fact they were not from the same object. From what I have been able to gather, the different energies reacted to one another hyper-actively and the physical energy it produced sparked the mechs in which beams hit."

"Beams?" Ratchet prompted.

"The…physical energy manifested into a laser-like shape." Shockwave grumbled.

"Those beams exploded and went everywhere," Starscream growled, "Everybot was ducking for cover. Blackout moved too slowly, Crankcase was dodging one and got hit by the other, but Skystalker was pushed into it."

"Regardless," Megatron boomed, "What else is there?"

Shockwave was silent for a moment, "The mechs should not have a problem producing offspring," He paused, "I believe the reaction from the shards was natural in any case."

"You had all the shards in one place for ages!" Wheeljack argued, "Why would it happen now?"

"I did not have them in one sole place," Shockwave snarled, "Shards were grouped separately unless they were produced by the same Allspark Cube. The day of the incident was the first time I experimented with the shards all at once."

There was a silence as everyone processed the information. Optimus sighed and looked to Megatron. "I suppose a ceasefire would be obligatory in the case of Sparklings…" He murmured.

"I suspected as much." He paused, "In any case, alone the sparklings would die from insufficient care and monitor. Alone, our factions are not in any way equipped to handle such a thing as this."

"We've tried to produce hatchlings but there weren't any successful results." Shockwave added.

"Situation: Suggestion?" Soundwave spoke for the first time and continued when he received a nod from his leader, "Statement: Combine Factions, Sparklings: Raise in one Location."

"The troops would be thrilled with that." Ratchet muttered.

"But he has a point," Prowl turned to Optimus, "If we're going to raise a sparkling, we're going to need the right equipment. As of right now, neither faction has the resources or the time capacity to do so. Seeing as there are three Sparklings currently in gestation, it would stand to reason that we need to call a Ceasefire and work together…no matter how badly this may affect the factions."

"It would stand that compromise would be made." Optimus stated at last.

Both leaders watched as their strategists and scientists looked to one another before every one of them began inching for the door.

"We'll let the two of you work that out."

And not a moment later the Autobot Leader and Decepticon Warlord were left in the conference room to debate amongst themselves.

Silence reigned for all of thirty seconds.

"Do you know how tiring it is to handle a sparked seeker for nearly an entire deca-cycle?" Megatron grumbled.

"No…but I assumed it had something to do with your patience."

"I may not be as patient as I used to be…but seekers will drain every ounce of your energy."

"Why are you sharing this with me?"

"If we will be sharing a base in the near future, you should at least be prepared."

"It can't be that bad. The Aerial-Bots were never-."

"The Aerial-Bots are not pure seekers. You do not have any pure seekers Prime. I, however, have about six. Take my advice."

"Do you plan on getting to the subject at hand sometime this Vorn?"

"I am no more thrilled about this than you are Prime," Megatron grumbled, "But I expected you to also stall for time before having to deliver the news to our troops."

* * *

A day later, Sideswipe and Blurr were unfrozen from their places in the storage hanger and none too happy about being forgotten overnight. But nevertheless they, along with everyone else, began to gather in the larger of the two Rec. Rooms on the Autobot base. In about an hour, both factions were gathered.

Optimus Prime took the podium on the right with Prowl and Ratchet behind him.

Megatron took the left podium with Starscream and Soundwave flanking him and tad farther back.

Shockwave stood with the three affected and or sparked bots near the front of the crowd but off to the side. Ready to step forward when signaled to do so.

Once the leaders had signaled for their respective factions to silence themselves and the order was followed, the meeting commenced.

* * *

**Part of me hates how this turned out…but the other half wants to know what you thought. Please review and give your opinions…I hope this was to your liking.**

**I am mega-nervous about reactions...since this chapter feels so…wrong.**

**Erg…let's give it a go.**

**Xantall of the Farwood: Thank you so much! I was hoping I had done a good job. Again, thanks for the support!**

**CarsCars2Fanatic: Thanks, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Diamond1502: Thanks, I need luck. But yeah, hope you're satisfied with it. Next chapter should be posted soon.**

**Songbird 0.o**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Wisdom Years V**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the transformers. *Insert sad-Soundwave-emote here***

**So, I started this chapter before any responses were gotten…so I'm just gonna put my normal message down below…after I say this: Okay so, I have to go to school for an extra week to make up for snow days and the school decided it would be a fantastic idea to have all our finals scheduled on the last two days of school so everyone would show up**

**How thoughtful of them. **

**Not that I don't want to be there, I like school more or less…but really…? So, updates will not be regular, not like they were to begin with but at least they weren't a month apart one time and a week apart next time like it usually is…Updates might take a while since it's crunch time.**

**So, all reviewer responses will be posted at the end of the chapter.**

**~o~**

"My god, there are a ton of new regulations." I whistled lowly from where I sat in the Medbay.

I was currently perched on the Cybertronian counter that was littered with various tools and body parts for Ratchet to fix, or reattach, at a later date. My legs dangled over the side and swung like a kindergartener's as I idly flipped through the four page memo of information. So far I was just skimming, I'd find time later to actually look through it and process the data.

Right now I had to divide my attention to the other bots in the room just in case I had to dodge a flying…something or another.

I looked up and assessed the situation.

Ratchet had been none too pleased when he received word that he was now going to have to share a working space with the Decepticon's medics Hook, Scalpel, and Ground Hog. It went without saying that he was having a field day from hell trying to find a way to settle them in without having to have his system thrown out the window…or more importantly, his stuff touched.

It was amusing to watch him scurry around the room and panic over what to do…as horrible as that sounds. I did feel a little bad for him and the group in general for that matter. They all looked incredibly stressed from the changes.

Humans had to temporarily evacuate to another base while the Cons filtered in. Obviously, no one had been too happy to have them here, but that's when details had been hammered out…

The Decepticons had begrudgingly accepted our terms of agreement in exchange for their kind to move into the base. Obviously, there was a lot of rebuilding going on and it seemed as if we were going to need to clear more land since the number of Cybertronians on base had at least tripled…or maybe doubled for all I knew.

There was a loud growl as the group of medics began snarling at each other in what I assumed was Cybertronian.

"Uh, hey Percy?" I called over.

"Hmm?" the scientist murmured.

"Are they okay?" I asked and pointed to the group.

The mech looked up and sighed before snapping out words in a series of clicks, whistles, whirrs, and vocal snaps. I had to smile, their language sounded so nonsensical to my species but it made perfect sense to them.

I was almost unfair how easily they learned our languages.

I observed as Perceptor finished shouting at them and it resulted in a lot of downcast looks and pede-shuffling. Ratchet ran a servo down his faceplates and quietly groaned.

"Whose idea was it to shove all of us medics in the same damn bay?" He scowled.

"Director Kent," I answered with a small smile without looking away from my memo papers.

"Remind me to _personally_ give him his next physical evaluation." Ratchet snarled.

The venom in the Autobot CMO's voice startled the Cons a little but I didn't even bat an eye and neither did Perceptor. I merely snorted and raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that Ratchet, organic bodies are very different compared to mechanical ones."

"I figured as much." He rolled his optics.

"Who's the squish?" Ground Hog asked.

"That's Jacky, don't dissect her." Ratchet said as he began clearing space on the counters.

Ground Hog blew an agitated puff of air out his vents and stormed to the far side of the room. I had to fight down my giggles as Ground Hog sat down heavily on a berth and began to sulk.

_'Seems like there's been a lot of this shit on all sides,'_ I thought to myself and remembered earlier today when someone mentioned a planted entirely made of a talking plant to Ironhide and he had stormed off in a rage.

When I asked Lennox about it he burst into giggles strangely enough. Unfortunately, he was too worked up to get more than three words out about it.

I sighed and got up, folding the memo and shoving it in the pocket of my cargo pants. "So, how's everyone been taking the changes?" I asked.

"Terribly," Ratchet growled, "There've been fights everywhere."

I gave the CMO a look and glanced around the practically patient-devoid Medbay. "Are you sure Ratchet." I double-checked.

"I was being sarcastic," He glanced up, "Did it work."

"…No." I murmured sheepishly.

"Ah, was it that bad?" he asked after a moment of pause.

"Yes," I nodded.

His optic ridge twitched a bit in amusement and he just shook his helm. "Alright you little rascal," He jested fondly and scooped me up off the counter, "Don't you have work to do?"

"About that," I scratched my head sheepishly, "They didn't give me an agenda."

Silence reined and I noticed that the statement had also caught Percy's attention.

"I assume that's a bad sign." Percy spoke up softly.

"Normally they stop sending you a daily schedule and replace it with a weekly one when you get close to retirement date. But when they stop sending you an agenda altogether…" I bit my lip nervously.

"You're most likely going to have to leave soon." Ratchet voiced the silent implication.

"Yeah," I sighed, "I just…I'm not sure if I'm ready…" I mumbled.

Nothing else was really said then…at least until the door opened to reveal a couple of government officials from the NEST Executives.

"Jacky McDaniel," He called, "Come with us."

"Shit," I muttered.

Ratchet lowered his hand and set me on the ground. With a sheepish wave I followed the Executives out into the hallway and felt my heart skip a beat when the doors to the Medbay clicked shut behind me. I had an odd feeling about this.

"Ms. McDaniel," One of thee suited men greeted.

"That's me." I sighed.

"We have news regarding your position at NEST." He continued.

"O-oh, really?" I mumbled, feeling a little light-headed.

"Yes, we would like to reassign to a new field of work."

"Oh I'll-wait what?!" I yelped as his words registered.

"We're hoping you'll agree to reassign to a newly developed team of senior NEST officers to work directly with the Autobots and Decepticons."

I stared blankly at him, processing this.

"What?"

**So, yeah, that was the chapter. As of yesterday, I have passed my freshman year with flying colors. So I'm updating. I've got all summer to work on chapters and work, and yeah…**

**I will promise that updates will be more frequent so long as my summer schedule stays relatively mild. I don't have a lot planned so I'm hoping to finish up some things this summer. Not to mention the transformers come out this summer!**

**Gettin' all angsty!**

**So, anyhow, I've already got some of the next chapter down on paper because I got bored in class…yeah.**

**Response Time!**

**Diamond1502: Don't worry! I won't forget her! Thanks for the review!**

**CarsCars2Fanatic: *Picks up jaw and puts it back* Thanks! **

**DragonRiderWarrior: You'll get some interaction…actually a lot of interaction between Jacky and the Cons. It's gonna be amazing! Hopefully!**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Wisdom Years VI**

**So, the last chapter was taken rather well! Thank you to everyone that reviewed! I also have a new account at DeviantArt under the Pen-Name MechaMoonStone. Now, I'm not exactly one of those super-amazing artists with the ability to create digital works of heaven and draw robots like nobody's business. But…I'm not bad either. **

**I could probably sketch out a few rough versions of Jacky if anyone would like me to. Eh, whatever…just please go check it out if you'd like!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers…if I did, Deckard from Brave Police would make a crossover appearance!**

* * *

"Wait, what?" I repeated.

"It would be a specialty services job." He continued.

"W-wait, just hold on for a second; what exactly would I be doing?" I asked.

"You, Lennox, and Epps have worked at NEST longer than anyone. We're asking you to work together, directly, with a team of Autobots and Decepticons to ensure everyone's safety. You will also be teaching the Decepticons about the Earth." He readjusted his glasses, "Naturally, you will be receiving a higher pay for your services as we are only asking William and Robert to work at this during certain hours of the day."

"Oh um," I blinked in surprise, "Of course."

"You accept?"

"Y-yes sir," I nodded.

"Thank you; you will receive a daily agenda starting three days from now. Dismissed," he nodded.

I stood there blankly as he walked off before turning and walking back into the Medbay. I was still a little frozen trying to process it all. When Ratchet noticed me his optics shuddered, blinked, and he stooped down and offered his hand palm up. "Jacky," He said, "How'd it go?"

"Um, well," I mumbled as I climbed up, "I wasn't fired."

"Oh? Then what did they want?" He asked.

"They, uh, they…Apparently I'm a teacher now." I laughed disbelievingly with small half smile.

"Teacher; who in the pit are you teaching?" He snorted.

"The Decepticons," I answered with a small grin.

There was a loud crash as Percy fell from his stool.

"Perceptor!" I yelped but he was already back on his pedes.

"What exactly would you be teaching the Decepticons?" the red microscope demanded.

"I have to side with Perceptor on that," Ratchet murmured, "What would you even teach them?"

"I'm not sure, as far as I know I get my agenda the day I start." I sighed.

"Lovely," Ratchet growled.

* * *

**(Four Hours Later)**

"Jacky!" I turned and yelped as an all too familiar silver hand scooped me up and took off.

I tried not to retch as the silver speedster began turning hairpin corners while still in bipedal mode. Even more unsettling was the fact that, I swear, I felt my hair smack off the corners from where I was in his palm. "Sideswipe!" I shrieked but the gladiator mech just laughed.

When he finally came to a halt I groaned and tried to stop my knees from shaking. "I'm too old for this shit." I mumbled.

"Jacky?"

"What the hell was that all about?" I snapped in annoyance.

Sideswipe only offered a sheepish shrug in reply and dumped me on the surface of a Cybertronian sized desk. He sat down at the desk and brought up a data-screen, comparable to a human laptop.

I recognized the flickering green screen and realized this was his room.

I sighed and stood, stretching out and popping old bones. Sideswipe cringed at the odd sound, "Are you supposed to make those noises?" He asked as I sat back down.

"Probably not," I replied with a cheerful smile despite my new aches.

"You," he poked me, "Are weird."

He hummed thoughtfully and shifted a few plates on his wrist, producing a cord of some sort which he hooked up to the data-screen. He then turned to me, "So, what's this I hear about you playing teacher for the Decepticons?" he asked with a smile.

Sideswipe smiled…a lot. But it didn't take a genius that his smiles were many in meaning. This wasn't a friendly smile either…this was a 'tell-me-what-the-pit-is-going-on-before-I-hang-you-by-your-toes' kind of smile.

"I was asked to transfer to another…field of work." I sighed, "I'm teaching them…something…"

"I'm going to be in your class too." He grinned.

I hiccupped with surprise…well, more like I choked on air.

"Wait…you're what?" I stared.

"Apparently bad Autobots have to go to school." He laughed humorlessly, "In all seriousness, I guess it wouldn't be all that bad."

"I guess not, but the general idea of it confuses me."

"How come?" He asked.

"Don't you have to check on that?" I asked and pointed to the data-screen.

"I am, it's connected to my internal systems," He rolled his optics, "You were saying?"

"What…what would I even be teaching them…and you?" I growled, "I know humanity believes it's superior and all that junk but this would be taking it pretty far." I began to pace, "You're well over tens of hundreds of centuries older than us…what is there to teach you that you couldn't learn just by looking through the internet?"

"That's the funny thing," Sideswipe spoke up silencing my questions, "There's a lot that we don't know about this planet. I think, a lot of it will be answering questions…" he murmured, "Hold on."

He turned to the screen and began tapping away at the screen before the human files began pulling up. Sideswipe sorted through them and hummed all the while.

"That's it; you're not going to be handling groups…not right away." He smiled.

"What?"

"I just checked your planner," he said, "you're just going to be working with one person at a time for now."

"I guess that's better than what I thought they were going to have me do." I sighed.

Sideswipe just shrugged. "Yeah, well good luck regardless."

"Thanks…I'll need it." I sighed.

There was a pause of silence. "So," I murmured, "Why exactly did you kidnap me?" I asked.

Sideswipe blinked at me and cocked his helm to the side a little, "What? Didn't you get the message?" he asked.

"Message? For what," I raised an eyebrow.

"Lennox contacted everyone," he explained, "Grimlock's going on a joy-race through the base. All humans are restricted to their rooms and or the Rec Room. Whichever was closer," he finished.

"So that's why you kidnapped me?" I asked.

"Yup, Ironhide got Lennox and a few humans took refuge in the Medbay." He said.

"Ah, how long do you think he'll be rampaging?"

"However long he damn well pleases."

* * *

**Well, that's that. I won't be posting next week because I'm going to Ala**bama. S**ee you next time!**


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